Such secrecy once again reveals NOM is not a grassroots organization but serves the interest of a handful of wealthy anti-gay donors, said the HRC, which has called upon the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board to investigate NOM’s financial activity around the Minnesota ballot measure.

Reports filed with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board reveal that marriage equality opponents received only seven individual donations and one donation from a family estate.

By contrast, Minnesotans United for All Families, the coalition working to defeat the ballot measure, openly reported contributions from over 5,000 individual donors, 75 percent of which were from Minnesota.

“NOM has deliberately evaded Minnesota’s public disclosure laws,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “We’ve seen this movie before in plenty of other states. This is part of NOM’s systematic attempt across the country to oppose public disclosure and hide its donors.”

“In Minnesota, they have taken it to a whole new level. We believe that NOM and others may be secretly telling people to contribute to them instead of directly to the campaign so that they can avoid public disclosure. The contrast between seven individuals opposing marriage equality and thousands of pro-equality supporters is quite revealing.”

For months, lawyers for NOM have battled the state over its public disclosure laws.

The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board has repeatedly told NOM and its allies that they must provide underlying disclosure by revealing, among other things, individual donors who are solicited to contribute to the ballot measure.

Today’s disclosure reports come on the heels of a court decision that rejected NOM’s arguments that it should not have to reveal donors solicited for the Maine marriage referendum in 2009.

In 2009, NOM solicited contributions for Amendment 1 but refused to register and report as a ballot question committee as required by Maine law. The Maine Attorney General is currently investigating NOM for violating state law.